Not Born Evil
by angelk647
Summary: No one is born an evil king aiming for a hostile takeover. Something had to have happened to him along the way. A look at Ganondorf's backstory, and what exactly turned him into the King of Evil.


**Welcome to my first full length** **fic! Legend of Zelda has always been my favourite videogame, and Ganon's backstory has always interested me. We're given bits and pieces, but we're never told exactly how he ended up like he did. So this is my attempt at coming up with a past for him. I'll try to stick to canon as much as I can (mainly OoT). I'm eager to keep writing so hopefully I'll have more out soon!**

 **Hope you all enjoy and please don't be shy about feedback!**

* * *

His life began in the same place all Gerudos' did; in a cold stone room deep in the Gerudo Fortress. It was a very small and simple room, consisting of only a small wooden table and a pile of blankets on the floor. The only light came from two torches flickering on either side of the doorway, illuminating the sheen of sweat on the face of the woman lying on the blankets.

She was gritting her teeth in pain but made no sound as two healers fussed around her. It would be considered a blight on her reputation if she cried out during childbirth, but she had been in labour for hours and wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out.

Just when she was thinking she couldn't hold in the scream any longer, it was over, and someone else's cries filled the room; a baby's. The woman shoved her short red hair out of her eyes and pulled herself into a sitting position.

"May I see my daughter?" she said to the healer who was bundling the baby in a thick blanket.

The healer made no response; she was staring at the baby with a look of awe on her face. The room was silent for a long moment before she finally said "son. You have a son."

"The son," said the other healer with a gasp before bolting from the room, no doubt to tell the rest of the fortress.

Leaning back and closing her eyes, the woman allowed herself a small smile, though inside her heart was leaping. Their new king had arrived, and she had borne him. This would get her great respect from her sisters. They only got one king every hundred years, after all.

She was about to drift off to sleep when the healer's voice brought her back. "What will you call him?" The question brought her back to full alertness; she would be the one to name their king! The name that would soon be respected throughout the fortress, perhaps throughout all of Hyrule. She wanted to give it some thought, but suddenly a name popped into her mind, and she knew she could use no other.

"Ganondorf," she said. "His name will be Ganondorf."

* * *

Ganon glanced at the parchment on his desk again, double-checking that he was performing the incantation right. This was his third try and the ball of lightning he was attempting to summon still hadn't appeared. He wasn't supposed to be trying that particular spell out yet, but he had been studying for hours and his head was crammed so full of spells and history that he felt like it might explode. Actually trying something out was preferable to just reading about it. He knew the importance of his learning, but couldn't help wishing that he could be out stirring up trouble with the other Gerudo.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he heard footsteps approaching his room. Glancing up from his paper-strewn table, he found Nabooru leaning against the doorframe, her arms folded and a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Up for a little adventure to Castletown, Ganny?"

"You know I can't," he said, trying to give her a stern look. "I've got learning to do." He sat down in his desk chair to prove his point.

Nabooru rolled her eyes. "What's the point of learning all this stuff if you don't have any real-world experience?" She walked over and placed her hands on the table, leaning forward so that they were face-to-face. "Come on, experience is a better teacher than these old papers. You're the only one of the sixteen-year-olds who barely leaves the fortress!"

Ganon hesitated, debating whether he should take her up on her offer or stay and study. He knew studying would be the wiser option, but still...

His resolve was wavering and he knew Nabooru could sense it. She smirked. "You're not afraid, are you?"

That settled it. If he let Nabooru think he was afraid he would hear no end of it. Ganon got to his feet. "I'll meet you at the front gate."

With a triumphant grin Nabooru turned away and flicked her red ponytail over her shoulder, nearly hitting him in the face. She bounced out of the room, leaving Ganon to gather his things and curse himself for giving in. It was always the same with Nabooru; she wasn't afraid to tease him like some of the others were. Part of him worried that her lack of respect would be an issue once he was king, but secretly he appreciated her casual attitude. At least in her eyes he was just another Gerudo, albeit a big, male one.

After closing his books and stacking them neatly, Ganon grabbed his heavy black cloak from where it lay on his large, neatly made bed and pulled the hood up, making sure it covered his red hair. It was rare enough to see a Gerudo outside of the desert, and him being the future king would certainly draw some stares. Nothing riled him up quite like being stared at.

With one last guilty glance at his desk he left his room, mentally bracing himself for whatever mess Nabooru would manage to get him into this time.

* * *

Hunching his shoulders, Ganon tugged his hood down farther in a feeble attempt to hide from the curious stares that followed him through the marketplace. Though the Gerudo were all cloaked, they were still easily recognizable. The Hylians didn't seem afraid exactly, but their looks weren't friendly either. He prayed they didn't know enough about Gerudo culture to figure out just who the lone male among the Gerudo women was.

Nabooru had gathered together a group of four other girls to accompany them to the Castletown marketplace. They were a loud bunch, which made people look at them even more. Especially when they wore such revealing clothes. It was normal amongst the Gerudo, but the Hylians tended to be more reserved about those sort of things.

The only quiet one of the group was Aveil, who was the only one in the group he knew well besides Nabooru. The two of them were standing together now, Nabooru grinning fiercely as she whispered something in Aveil's ear that made the other girl smirk. Ganon didn't want to know.

As the girls scanned the marketplace, he pulled Nabooru aside. "I can't take the staring any longer," he hissed. "I'm going off on my own. I won't draw so much attention if I'm by myself."

Nabooru raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She knew how he felt about the looks he got. Instead she waved him off and said, "meet us back here later." Then she took off boldly through the marketplace, the rest of the girls following their fearless leader.

As he wandered through the market more slowly, Ganon couldn't help but envy Nabooru. The others followed her so willingly, and she took charge without effort. She had natural leadership skills that he couldn't dream of matching. He sometimes still had trouble asking attendants to fetch him things and he had been doing it his whole life.

Kotake's words echoed in his head. Say it like you expect them to obey you, because they should. They have been brought up to obey orders, same as you have been brought up to give them. The old ice witch was very stern about her royalty lessons. Her and her twin sister, Koume, had raised Ganon after his mother died. They took his training very seriously.

A king's authority is like a sword, Koume had added. He should wear it on him at all times, for all to see, and be unafraid to unsheathe it.

He had clung to this metaphor to strengthen his resolve until one day he was stupid enough to mention it to Nabooru. She had made a dirty joke about it and from then on he couldn't think about it without wanting to start snickering.

He turned onto a small cobblestone street that ran off the main market street. There were less people here and he began to relax as he perused the small shopfronts. A jewelry stand caught his eye and he went to investigate, only to stop short as a young woman approached it and began talking to the grizzled old shopkeeper.

She was a small girl in a soft blue dress the shade of the desert sky. Golden waves fell over her shoulders like a waterfall at sunset, rippling as she brushed them away from her face. Her dainty fingers tangled in the golden chain of a necklace and lifted it up to examine its pendant.

Realizing he was still in the middle of the street, Ganon approached the stand as calmly as he could, though he could feel the tips of his ears burning. He pretended to be inspecting an emerald brooch while sneaking glances at the girl. She was still studying the necklace, and before he fully realized what he was doing he spoke.

"That's true Gerudo craftsmanship," he told her.

The girl looked up at him with soft blue eyes and gave him a tiny smile that was so dazzling that he had to bite his cheek to keep himself from grinning back at her. "Is it now?" she said.

"Um, yes." He pulled one hand out of his cloak and reached out to point at the carved gold that surrounded the white stone in the center of the pendant. "Those designs are Gerudo patterns, and the stone is only found way out in the desert, near the eastern cliffs."

He was rewarded with another bright smile. The top of the girls head barely reached his shoulder and yet he felt small and weak just looking at her.

"You have quite the knowledge," she said. "Have you ever been there? To the Gerudo Desert, I mean?"

This time he allowed himself to grin. "Once or twice."

"I've never been out of Castletown. What's it like out there? I bet it's beautiful."

"It's...hot. And sandy." As soon as he said the words he wanted to smack himself. He wasn't exactly charming her with poetic descriptions. He decided to take a different approach. "Out there the sky is so big and blue that you could believe it goes on forever. And when night falls it fills the heavens with diamonds. The sand dunes change color all the time; they're yellow in the mornings and orange in the afternoon and blue at night."

"It really does sound beautiful," she told him, her eyes lighting up at his descriptions.

Ganon felt his heart swell proudly. He had tried his hand at poetic words before, but he had never known if he was any good. Nabooru had found out and teased him mercilessly, calling him "Hylian Princess" for a week. It felt good to have someone appreciate his efforts.

"You should go see it sometime," he said.

She let out a sad sigh like the whisper of wind across the dunes. "Oh, I do wish. But father would never let me that far from Castletown."

The sad look in her eye gave him the ridiculous urge to drop to one knee and vow to take her there himself. What's the matter with me? "I'm sorry to here that."

She smiled again. "You'll just have to go for both of us." She gently returned the pendant back to its place and then turned back and held out her hand to him. "My name is Elena."

As gently as he could, he took her tiny, pale hand in his large dark one, mesmerized by the contrast. He remembered to let go just on the verge of holding it too long. Partially to cover his embarrassment, he bowed low at the waist as Koume had taught him. "Pleasure to meet you."

She giggled, and Ganon felt his whole face heat at the musical sound. Never before had a girl affected him like this. All the girls he knew were Gerudo. Some were tough, some were gentler, but all had that rough edge that came from living in the harshness of the desert. None of them had the softness of Elena. He tried to picture Nabooru holding his hand as delicately as this girl had and nearly made himself laugh out loud.

"You're supposed to tell me your name now," she reminded him.

"Of course!" he stammered. "I'm-" he was drowned out by the sound of shouting on the main market street. He glanced back the way he had come, eyes widening in disbelief as a flash of red hair went by, followed closely by a burly man swinging his fists.

Goddesses, he swore internally. Can't Nabooru keep her gang out of trouble for a few hours? He turned back to Elena only to find she was gone. Frantically he turned to the shopkeeper. "Did you see where she went?"

The old man peered at him distractedly from under thick grey eyebrows. "Home probably." He turned his gaze back towards the main market, attempting to get a look at the fight. "She's Lord Vallent's daughter. He's a stern old man, wants all his girls home by 4 o'clock, which it should be now."

"Where's home?"

"North end of Castletown, s'where all the lords live," the shopkeeper gestured distractedly down towards the other end of the street.

Nabooru stepped into view again, jumping back as the large man who had been fighting her slumped to the ground. Ganon prayed she hadn't done any permanent damage. He'd be in so much trouble.

He was about to go intervene when an idea struck him. Glancing at the shopkeeper, who seemed to still be occupied with the commotion, he grabbed the Gerudo necklace and walked swiftly in the opposite direction, praying the old man wouldn't notice until it was too late.

After asking a few different locals for directions a small messenger boy finally pointed him in the direction of Lord Vallent's house. He stood before it in awe, nervous to get any closer.

It wasn't much different from the other fancy houses in this area of Castletown, but then he hadn't really stopped to look closely at any of them before. The Gerudo had very few buildings standing separate from the main fortress, and none so nice as this one. It was a large two story house, with a front door made of a pale wood that was almost white and large windows that made it seem very open. Colorful flowers grew all along its front. It wasn't hard to believe Elena lived here.

Ganon debated what to do for a moment. Did he dare knock on the door? He might get Elena, but he also might get her father. That frightened him. Though he had no doubt that he would physically tower over the lord, he had very little experience with other men and wasn't entirely sure how to act around them. Especially Hylians. They were an odd culture full of funny little etiquette rules that he had given up trying to learn.

He had just decided to drop the necklace on the doorstep and leave when the door opened and Elena appeared. She gave him that smile as she bounced towards him. "Oh, there you are! I didn't think I'd get to see you again! I'm sorry for leaving, but I'd lost track of time and father would have been furious if I'd been late. I've already been late once this week."

So pleased was he at seeing her again that Ganon nearly drop the necklace. He quickly held it out to her. "Here, for you."

"For me?" she breathed. "Oh, thank you! It's so beautiful." She took it gently and held it as though it was made of glass. "You didn't have to buy it for me!"

He grinned sheepishly and immediately her face changed. "You did buy it, didn't you?'

"I-I..." he stammered, words suddenly failing him. All his life he had had no problem with the name "Gerudo Thieves," but suddenly in front of someone so beautiful and innocent he found he minded very much.

Elena regarded him in silence for a long moment. "You're Gerudo, aren't you."

"Yes," he whispered. Slowly he reached up the pulled his hood down, allowing her to see the brilliant red of his hair.

"You're the king."

"Prince, actually. I'm still learning." What must she think of me? Though the Gerudo and Hylians were on good terms, he knew ancient stories of the wicked Gerudo kings still lingered in Hylian folklore.

To his surprise, a mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Well then, you still owe me your name, Your Highness."

Ganon felt his mouth drop in shock, then quickly snapped it shut. "My name is Ganondorf. Though Ganon is fine."

"Ganon," she said, and the sound of her saying his name made his stomach flutter. "I like it, it suits you." She gave him a small curtsey. "Well Prince Ganon, it was lovely to meet you. I have to go back inside now before someone notices I'm missing. Thank you very much for your gift." She turned to go inside, then paused and looked back at him. "Will I be seeing you in Castletown again?"

"Yes!" he said immediately. "Yes, definitely. I'll be back. Soon. Hopefully."

"Good! Come see me when you return. Safe journeys!" One last smile and she was gone, leaving him feeling as though his head was floating through the clouds. In a daze he wandered back to the marketplace to collect the wayward Gerudo.

On the way home he attempted to listen to the girls' stories of the fight that had started when a shopkeeper accused Aveil of stealing even though she insisted she hadn't. He tried to follow along with their story, but Elena kept appearing in his mind and then he would have to turn away to prevent them from seeing his smile.

Nabooru, of course, picked up on his good mood. "So Gan, have a good time? What were you up to while we were knocking down Hylians?"

"Hm?" he asked dazedly. "Oh! I uh, found some Gerudo jewelry for sale...very well made. Wonder who's work it was."

Aveil snickered. "You finally leave the fortress and the first thing you go for is something Gerudo?"

"Typical Gan." Nabooru laughed too, but there was something in her eyes that made Ganon think she didn't believe him. She couldn't know what he had been up to, but she definitely suspected something.

"So," she continued, "will you be coming with us to Castletown next time we go?"

Ganon forced down another smile and replaced it with a grin. "Oh, you never know. I just might."

It didn't occur to him until he was laying restless in bed that night that perhaps Elena had left him in the marketplace on purpose, to see if he would come looking for her. It would be an unusual move for a Hylian girl, but, remembering her grin when she found out he'd stolen the necklace, he realized that she must have done exactly that. She was intriguing for a Hylian, this girl with the brilliant eyes and soft dresses.

Turning over, Ganon fell asleep with a silly smile on his lips and the feel of a soft hand in his imprinted in his mind.


End file.
